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Johnson & Johnson reaches opioid settlement with Colorado and Nevada

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has reached a settlement agreement with Colorado and Nevada to put opioid-related allegations there to bed.

Colorado will receive $385 million from Johnson & Johnson and the drug distributors McKesson (NYSE:MCK), AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC) and Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH).

Nevada will receive nearly $285.2 million as part of the overall settlement, which is earmarked for battling the ongoing opioid epidemic, according to Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford. Of that sum, Johnson & Johnson will pay $63 million, according to a press release.

“The funds that our state will receive going forward will help us save lives and mitigate the harms done to our residents because of the ongoing opioid epidemic,” Ford said in a statement. “Our team has worked diligently to get Nevada the resources we must have to help Nevadans in need in one of the epidemic’s hardest-hit states, and to obtain justice from many opioid manufac…

Gilead Sciences, Merck near the top of Newsweek’s most responsible companies list

A handful of big names in drug discovery and development are among the 500 “most responsible,” according to Newsweek.

The outlet published its “America’s Most Responsible Companies 2022” list, marking the third installment of the compilation (in partnership with Statista), this time expanded to include 500 of the largest public corporations around. Companies were judged with an overall score out of 100 that combined assessments on environmental, social and corporate governance performance.

Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) were among the pharmaceutical companies to land a spot in the top-500, with a number of other drug development, pharmaceutical processing and manufacturing companies included.

The highest-ranking company was Gilead in sixth, landing an overall score of 89.9 points (90.6 environmental, 81.1 social and 98.2 corporate governance).

Merck was next-best in ninth at 89.3 points (94.6, 81.4, 92.…

McKesson announces plans to sell UK businesses to Aurelius

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) announced today that it entered into an agreement to send its United Kingdom-based business to Aurelius.

Aurelius, a pan-European asset management group, will acquire McKesson’s UK businesses, including LloydsPharmacy, LloydsDirect (previously Echo by LloydsPharmacy), AAH Pharmaceuticals, LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare, LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, MASTA and John Bell & Croyden, according to a news release.

The companies expect the transaction to close, customary to closing conditions and including receipt of required regulatory approvals, some time in fiscal 2022.

McKesson said the agreement represents another step in its efforts to streamline its business and fully exit the European region, while Aurelius expects to support McKesson’s UK businesses by further investing in and growing each division.

“We are extremely proud of the role that our business has played to advance better healthcare in the UK, and e…

Johnson & Johnson, other companies to pay $26B over opioid crisis

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $26 billion settlement with Johnson & Johnson, among other companies, over opioids.

The settlement includes Johnson & Johnson, who manufactured and marketed opioids, along with pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.

Get the full story at our sister site, Pharmaceutical Processing World.

Johnson & Johnson, other companies to pay $26B over opioid crisis

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $26 billion settlement with Johnson & Johnson, among other companies, over opioids.

The settlement includes Johnson & Johnson, who manufactured and marketed opioids, along with pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.

According to a news release, the settlement resolves investigations and litigation over the companies’ roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic while requiring significant industry changes to prevent such a crisis from repeating itself.

“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of life caused by the opioid epidemic, or stop the grief it has caused for its victims and their families, but this proposed settlement represents one step in the process of healing our communities,” Bonta said in the release. “Along with our coalition partners, our office has worked to hold accountable bad actors who fueled this public health crisis …

Federal judge dismisses antitrust lawsuit against BD

[Image from Unsplash]A federal judge in southern Illinois has dismissed a lawsuit that a small health provider filed against BD (NYSE:BDX), claiming that the medtech giant engaged in antitrust behavior with distributors Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) and McKesson (NYSE: MCK).

Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel had previously dismissed Marion Diagnostic Center and Marion HealthCare’s lawsuit, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the judgment because it found that Rosenstengel had erred in finding that the lawsuit needed to involve accusations of vertical price-fixing in the markets for conventional syringes, safety syringes and safety IV catheters.

The amended complaint, according to the appeals court, still failed to adequately allege an anti-competitive conspiracy. But the appeals court gave the Marion, Ill. health providers a chance to file another amended complaint.

Rosenstengel in an order to dismiss, dated March 12, found that the …

McKinsey to pay $573M in opioid settlement

The prestigious consulting firm McKinsey has struck a deal with 47 states over its role in the opioid crisis.

Notably, the company had advised OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma (Stamford, Conn.) on “turbocharging” opioid sales. The pharma company had worked with McKinsey for 15 years.

The Justice Department concluded that McKinsey helped manage a Purdue Pharma sales program known as “Evolve to Excellence” that pushed medically questionable OxyContin prescriptions.

There is no admission of wrongdoing in the McKinsey settlement, but the firm will publicly share tens of thousands of pages of documents linked to its opioid work.

“With this agreement, we hope to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis in the U.S.,” said Kevin Sneader, global managing partner of McKinsey, in prepared remarks.

Sneader also apologized for the firm’s role in the opioid crisis while also maintaining that the firm’s past work with opioid makers was lawful.…

Feds ink COVID-19 vaccine distro deal with McKesson

The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense Dept. (DoD) announced a COVID-19 vaccine distribution deal with McKesson.

Under Operation Warp Speed, McKesson will become a central distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and related supplies needed to administer the pandemic vaccinations, according to a news release.

Get the full story at our sister site, Pharmaceutical Processing World.

U.S. Senators demand investigation of Trump COVID-19 supply chain effort

(Image by Krzysztof Kowalik on Unsplash)

Three U.S. senators today demanded an investigation into Project Air Bridge, a Trump administration supply-chain management project to import personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dubbing the project “opaque,” U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also released new documents and information from the six major medical wholesalers or distribution companies involved in the project — Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), McKesson, Medline Industries, Henry Schein (NSDQ:HSIC), Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI) and Concordance Healthcare Solutions.

Warren and Blumenthal began investigating Project Air Bridge in April after multiple reports of seizures of supplies by federal officials and what they characterized in a news release as “political favoriti…

McKesson appoints chief strategy and business development officer

McKesson this week said it appointed Tom Rodgers as executive VP and chief strategy and business development officer, effective June 5.

Upon the appointment, Rodgers will also become a member of the executive operating team. He succeeds Bansi Nagji who stepped down on March 31.

Rodgers will be responsible for the company’s overall strategic plan and initiatives, key acquisitions and internal programs that help drive financial performance and enhanced innovation.

Prior to his new role, Rodgers served as senior VP and managing director for McKesson Ventures. He has more than 25 years of experience working in emerging companies and has held a number of leadership positions at Cambia Health and Advanced Technology Ventures.

“McKesson has a long history of evolving our company in meaningful ways that enable us to lead in a rapidly changing healthcare environment,” CEO Brian Tyler said in a news release. “Tom’s experience in both venture capital a…